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@uiten tnts strnt @fitta R. R. PTHISN, F CH-I'GAG, ILLIN'OIS.

' Letters Patent No. 61,245, clntecl Jamtm'y 15, 1867. n

@In rlgrtnlc nient tu in tlnsc *,lettds infinit-rut mating .pint .tf ligt time TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, R. It. 'Iier'.lsoir,v of Chicago` in the county of Cook, and State oi' Illinois, have `invented a new and improved Machine for Cleaning Knives, die.; and I do hereby deel-are that the following isa full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make' and us'e thesame, reforence being had to` the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

The present invention relates to a'mnchinc intended more particularly for the cleaningor scouring of table knives and forks, although it can be used for other knives, the. I

The principal features cf the machine consist in so constructing and arranging:1r the bed for the reception and the holding of the knives, die., Which are to bc cleaned orscoured in the machine,` that it can be adjusted to any length of knife or fork-blades, and iin-.sucheJ manner vas toene-ble any and all points of the surfaceof such blades to be brought to the most desirable position with regard to the scourer or cleaner for cleaning or scouring the same. It also consists in so arranging the bed, upon which .the knives or forks are placed to be scoured or cleaned, in connection with a reservoir or box for the reception of the cleaning material used, that, when so desired, the said bed can be so removed or slid away as to enable the scourer to be supplied with the requisite amount of, cleaning material for said box, and then slid back to its place over the same, in position for the scourer to act upon the surface of the knife or fork-blades, as the case maybe. In the accompanyingplate of drawings my improved machine for cleaning knives and forks is illustratedd Figure l being a plan or top view of the same; and

Figure 2, a central longitudinal verticalsection, taken in the .plane of thelinc a' fc, fig 1 Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

A, in the drawings, represents-the bottom or bed-plate of the machine, surrounded upon the two sides 4and one end by raised pieces B, those upon the .sides terminating in upright or vertical slotted pieces C. D, blocks arranged to slide up and down in the vertical slotted pieces C, one to each piece. These blocks D each move upon a vertical vguide-pin, E, secured in the slot-soi` the vertical pieces, on each of which pins a spiral spring, E, is coiled, the action of which is to force and hold the blocks D down. F is a bar extending` horizontally across from one upright C to the other, vlvhich bar is hung at each end in and to the sliding-blocks D of such uprights, so as to freely turn or swing therein. To the upper side of this bar a vertical lever-handle, Gr, is fastened, and to the lower side of the same, through arms II, a pad, I, or other device suitable for scouring or cleaning the surfaces of knife and fork-blades of table cutlery, more especially, this scourer-pad extending across the bed of the machine. J, the bed-piece or cushion, on which the knife-blades to be scoured are laid, as plainly illustrated in iig. 1, more especially, of the drawings. This bed-piece is raised above the top of the bed-plate of the machine by means of cross-pieces Ii secured to the latter, forming a box or reservoir, L, in which it is intended to place the cleaning material used or employed, the supplementary bed-piece J beingr arranged so as to be'slid over and upon the said box L, or away from the same, to expose its contents for being taken up by or rcplen ishing the scourer-pad when so desired. M, the holder for the handles of the knives and forks, to prevent them from becoming injured or soiled While the bladesv are being cleaned or scoured on the machine. This holder M is` formed of a bottom-piece, N, dividcdin the direction of its length bya series of parallel partitions, O, into spaces P, of suliicient width to accommodate any of the ordinary Widths of handles upon table-knives and forks, and of a cover-plate or board, Q, for the handles, which board is hung by slotted pieces R to the sides of the bottom-piece N in such a manner as to accommodate itself to the thickness of the handles of the knives or forks, be it more or less, within reasonable limit, when itis swung over and laid down and upon them, as shown in fig. 2. The holder M lies upon the portion S of the supplementary bedpiece J, with the knife or fork-blades, as the ease may be, resting upon the cushion portion of such bed-piecc, the said holder lbeing secured from moving upon thc said bed-piece by means of across-bar, T, which forms a stop or rest for the end U of the holder. To enable this cross-bar Tito be adjusted according .to the length of the handles of the knivesor forks, as the case may be, it is provided with dowel-pins or studs, fitting into the 'holes afa-t regular distances apart, in the bed piece J.

In the operation of the machine 'ibove explained, the knife-blades, for instance, having first been laid upon the cushion `portion .of the bed-picco J, with their handles in the holder M, and lthe scourer provided with the requisite or proper am'ount of scouring material, the said scourer is then, throughits lever-handle, moved across or over the said knife-blades, forward and backward, until the surfaces on which it acts are suiciently cleaned or scoured,-When, raising the ,scourer from the knives by swinging it in the proper direction therefor, lift the knifeblades from the bed-piec'e'by their holder M, and again replace them thereon, but with their other sides up, which sides are then cleaned as before, and so on. As the scourer is mov'ed forward and backward over the 'knife-blades it is not only forced down and upon the same by the exertion of the person operating the machine,

but also by the force of thc spiral springs, which also, as is obvious, allow the scourer to exert a more yielding and elastic pressure, as well as to adjust itself more fully to the surfaces of the knife-blades, 85o. When forks 'are to be cleaned or scoured, I deem it'best to remove the supplementary bed-piece J, resting them upon the crossbars donstituting'the cleaningmateiiial box, across from one to the other of which they extend; when passing or moving the scourer over them it must adjust itself, through the manner in which it is hung or suspended,to every variation in the form and curve of the forks, as is obvious without any further explanation, thereby producing a most perfect and thoroughcleaning or scouring of the same. By properly adjusting the cross-bar T any length of handles on the knives, 85e., can be accommodated, as Well as the blades of the same presented to the soourer in the most favorable position for cleaning and scouring anyr andall parts of their surfaces.

What I cla-im as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The bed or cushion J, or its equivalent, upon which the knives, 85o., are laid to be actedipon by the scourer, in Combination with the cleaning-material box 0r reservoir L, when the two are combined, substantially as and for the' purpose specified.

The `holder' M, for the handles'of the knives or forks, Sto., made .in a box form, and provided with a. cover-plate or hoard Q, so hung thereto as to accommodate itself to handles of varying thicknesses, substantially as described.

R. R. PATTISON.

Witnesses:

THOMAS G. KNIss, PHILIP W. QUINLAN. 

